Why Arab tribes haven’t defected from the SDF

After the Assad regime’s collapse in December 2024, many predicted that the SDF would rapidly unravel from within: the SDF’s Arab components would defect en masse and realign with the HTS-led government. More than a year later those expectations have not materialised. Why?  During the recent clashes between the Asayish and government forces in Aleppo city, some observers claimed that Arab tribal components of the SDF had defected to the government side, presenting this as a decisive factor behind the SDF’s defeat there. A closer look suggests these claims are somewhat simplistic.The armed tribesmen who appeared in the Kurdish-majority Ashrafiya district were local Baggara tribesmen of various backgrounds. Some were civilians, others members of the Iranian-backed Baqir Brigade …